TY - JOUR
AU - Neumark,David
TI - Sex Discrimination and Women's Labor Market Interruptions
JF - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL - No. 4260
PY - 1993
Y2 - January 1993
DO - 10.3386/w4260
UR - http://www.nber.org/papers/w4260
L1 - http://www.nber.org/papers/w4260.pdf
N1 - Author contact info:
David Neumark
Department of Economics
University of California at Irvine
3151 Social Science Plaza
Irvine, CA 92697
Tel: 949-824-8496
Fax: 949/824-2182
E-Mail: dneumark@uci.edu
AB - The human capital explanation of sex differences in wages is that women intend to work in the labor market more intermittently than men, and therefore invest less. This lower investment leads to lower wages and wage growth. The alternative "feedback" hypothesis consistent with the same facts is that women experience labor market discrimination and respond with career interruptions and specialization in household production. This paper explores the relationship between self-reported discrimination and subsequent labor market interruptions to test this alternative hypothesis, attempting to remove biases associated with using data on self-reported discrimination. The paper provides evidence consistent with the feedback hypothesis. Working women who report experiencing discrimination are significantly more likely subsequently to change employers, and to have additional children (or a first child). On the other hand, women who report experiencing discrimination, and who consequently have a greater tendency for career interruptions of these types, do not subsequently have lower wage growth.
ER -